Almost everyone can identify traditional garden plant favorites such as the bearded iris and herbaceous peony. But, when such common plants remain blithely bloomless or produce the wrong flowers, new gardeners may despair of ever being able to grow anything. If those classic beauties seem to you to be as finicky as they are famed, just keep in mind that some of these plants prefer to be shallow planted . Take showy bearded irises such as ‘Beverly Sills’ and ‘Immortality,’ for example. Keep in mind that you don’t want to plant iris rhizomes as deeply as you would plant lily or tulip bulbs...

Variegated and bearded irises are two popular varieties whose blooms in a rainbow of colors will captivate you just as they have artists Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet. Despite their seemingly delicate appearance, irises are hardy and adaptable perennial. There are over 300 species and most grow to about 28 inches tall. An iris’s meaning spans history. In France, it is the royal fleur-de-lis . In Greek mythology, Iris, which means rainbow, is the messenger of the gods. Her flower represents communication and messages. As a flower species it now represents eloquence with different colors...

Trees play a key role in moderating our global climate. They reduce the atmospheric temperature by taking the energy in sunlight and converting it to contribute to the growth of biomass. They give us oxygen by removing the carbon dioxide in the air. Trees also reduce flooding by capturing rainwater and aiding its absorption into the soil. This also contributes to reduced flooding. These and more are some of the reasons we should all strive to plant more trees. What do you do with all the space left on the ground underneath the tree canopy? There is a rich woodland ecosystem with multiple...

The peonies’ season may be brief, but its intensity is well worth having as an integral part of your garden plan! Peony plants , with proper planning, will offer a dazzling display of flower fireworks from mid-spring through the beginning of summer. A popular choice for gardeners for over a century, The American Peony registry lists over 6500 cultivars From all these choices, there are three common types of peonies : tree peonies, herbaceous peonies and Itoh peonies. The traditional colors are pink, white, rose, and red. The tree and Itoh peonies have added different colors that include...